RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest Tee-Up

So it’s summer, and you’re still planning which giant music fests you’re going to “do”. Well… us too. We have a few nailed, and have posted plenty of advice on others in the past year. We’ll be back at one of our faves this year – the marathon genre-bender (‘bender’ is double-entendre) that is Ottawa’s Bluesfest.

The key to this festival is going in with an open mind; there are so many different styles on display. It’s a beautiful festival because you’ll see metal fans bobbing their head to hip hop, 60 year old blues fans rocking out to young indie bands, and even music snobs like me singing along to country songs.

Here’s our checklist for this year’s fest:

DAY1:

Drink first beer of festival.

Jimmy Eat World (late 90’s radio almost ruined this band for me – but they’re still cool)

DVBBS (you like big buildups in your dance music?)

Cat Empire (not sure about these guys, but they look like excellent musicians)

The Black Keys (as a card-carrying music blogger, I am legally required to attend all Black Keys concerts within 100km)

DAY 2:

Friday night – start with Camera Obscura (any band that John Peel loved has gotta be worth the time)

Hustle in order to not miss a note of Frank Turner (and hope it’s even HALF as good as this)